My finger is squished

Today, because I volunteered to help out with set changes for Importance of Being Earnest, I practically spent my entire day at the theater, which resulted in a squished finger, but let me back track.

The majority of yesterday and today was painting.  Painting, painting, painting.  I have several gray primer marks still left on my hand.  Set, set, set, painting, painting, painting.  Yesterday was also the final dress rehearsal for Importance, which I stayed for as well.  Yesterday I arrived at the theater at one o'clock, and today I got to CCT at 10:30.  It is 12:14 am, and I got home at 11:00.  I love it.

It seems that I have signed off my soul, which in any other context would be a BAD thing, but for me, I am simply happy that I get to spend all of my time in a place that is awesome.  Today, tensions were running a little (and by a little, I mean very) high.  By 2:30 in the afternoon, the set was STILL not done, and the show was opening in six hours.

In fact, the set isn't yet done, and the first show is already over.  It feels like a real let down to not have the set finished by the first performance.  Of course the set looks PRESENTABLE, and believable for the show, but the trellis on top of the periactoid was covered up because the fake flowers weren't right, and there wasn't enough trellis to put on the second periactoid, and the back wall wasn't finished completely, so it looked a little sparse, etc., etc.  Today was the first day I felt unhelpful - it seemed no matter what anyone was doing, there was always something more important that needed to be attended to that no one was focusing on.  Of course, if you switched what you were doing, then you realized that you were actually spending your valuable time on the most important thing BEFORE - see what I mean?

Today I worked with the interns, basically barking orders at them like "GET THE TAPE OFF WITHOUT CHIPPING THE PAINT" or "LABEL THESE BAGS AND PUT THEM IN THE GROTTO" etc., etc.

My own rehearsal was shortened by an hour, and it was quite tense, as we were out in the lobby so people could clean the stage for Importance.  I must say, it was difficult to rehearse in the lobby, but we managed.

One of the things I'm noticing is that several of my actors are so enthused and excited that they're talking - A LOT.  I hate being the bad guy that yells at people to shut up, but I find I'm doing that more and more.  It's not so much talking as it is cracking up and not being able to stop laughing.  Of course, our scenes are funny, but more than that, Keihin and Daryon are having fun up on stage, rehearsing the scenes we've never done before because we were missing Keihin.

GOOD LORD, directing Keihin and Daryon is going to require a new kind of strength.  The testosteronic tension is so palpable I feel like I'm hitting a wall when I'm up there.  The majority of their scenes together are the four scenes from a TV show that I will intersperse with the other scenes.  They're the only scenes that have a definitive plot arch that the audience will be able to follow from scene to scene.  Keihin and Daryon's characters are two best friends who A) get into a major fist fight and B) make up in a kind of very dramatic scene.  Of course, Keihin and Daryon are most excited about hitting each other, except that I keep telling them that STAGE COMBAT MEANS NOT ACTUALLY HITTING EACH OTHER.  SAFETY FIRST.

It's hard for them, but they'll get it.  Right now, they're just messing each other up with lines.  One of them will really be in the zone and be working really hard, really genuinely, and then the other will crack up at the level of intensity in his friend's face.  As soon as the other one laughs, it's right back to this sea of one-upping each other that I have to tame mostly by grabbing their faces and telling them to be quiet.

I like being the tough director, because they're tough actors to direct.  There's a lot of very raw talent - raw talent that, of course, has to be morphed from Disney Channel raw talent into something like BBC America Skins raw talent.  The guy who plays Daryon's character on the show Skins - THE BRITISH VERSION, NOT THE NEW US VERSION THAT'S COMING TO MTV (which, weirdly enough, has all Canadian actors???) - isn't necessarily the best actor, but there's so much dedication to the role that he passes off for very realistic.  I privately think that Daryon's a better actor than he is, but there's still a lot of work to go.

Keihin's having trouble tapping into his inner jerk, only I assume he's only having trouble with that because he's on a stage and being directed by one of his peers.  Perhaps if I were to watch him with his friends when he wasn't being put on the spot...I would see him being a little bit more like Tony Stonem than he likes to admit.

Today, we were discussing one of the things Tony did to get back at his girlfriend, something really sick and mean.  Keihin wrinkled his nose and was like, "That's so disturbing."  I nodded and said, "Welcome to the World of Tony."

What I didn't say to him, and what I should have, was that you can't judge your characters.  This is something I learned indirectly from Rich.  You cannot judge your characters, otherwise you can't play them.

Anyway, sleep for the mean time - I have another hastily scheduled rehearsal tomorrow to make up for the snow day on Tuesday, but other than that, I won't be at the theater again until Saturday night for Importance of Being Earnest.

Until then, I look forward to my finger not being squished by enormous set changes.